Arsenal star Albert Sambi Lokonga joins Crystal Palace on loan after Gunners seal transfer for Chelsea ace Jorginho

ARSENAL ace Albert Sambi Lokonga has joined Crystal Palace on loan.

The midfielder has struggled for game-time at the Emirates and will spend the second half of the season in South London.

Lokonga arrived at Arsenal in the summer of 2021 in a £17m deal from Anderlecht.

But he's behind Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey in the pecking order, which has restricted him to just 14 Prem starts in 18 months.

And this season his chances have reduced even further with the majority of his minutes coming in the Europa League.

That's despite Mohamed Elneny being injured for large parts of the campaign.

And he'll now hope for further chances as he links up with ex-Gunners captain Patrick Vieira.

Lokonga told Palace's website:  “I’m really excited – I can’t wait to get started.

"I’m really happy to join Crystal Palace. I want to go as far as possible with the team.

"I will try to push for me and the team to do the maximum to reach the top."

Eagles chairman Steve Parish said: “I would like to welcome Sambi to south London, and am pleased he has chosen to join Patrick’s squad for the rest of the season, after making an impressive start to life in English football.

"He has been on our radar for several years since his emergence at Anderlecht, and we very much look forward to his contribution as we push to climb the table."

Mikel Arteta was quick to replace him with the £12million signing of Jorginho from Chelsea.

Jorginho became Arteta's third signing of the window following the recent arrivals of Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior.

And he has the chance to win his first Premier League title with the Gunners five points clear of Man City with a game in hand.